Hook.



No. 719,627. PATENTED FEB. 3,1903. L. A. WALKER.

HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1902.

H0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS A. WALKER, OF PORT JEFFERSON, .NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CORNELIUS S. MITCHELL, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY.

HOOK.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 719,627, dated February 3, 1903.

Application filed March 21 1902. Serial No. 99,318. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, LOUIS A.WALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port J etferson, in the county of Sufiolk and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hooks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to hooks; and it has for its principal object to provide a device of this nature whereby when two parts are secured together by itas, for instance, an awning to its supportthe tension exerted on the device will so act as to tend to keep it closed independently of any other means and yet be of such construction that it may with the greatest facility and convenience be detached from one of the parts.

My invention will be found fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the hook, an awning and its support being shown in dotted lines and the position of the several parts when the hook is released from the awning-support being also shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the hook. Fig. 3 illustrates one modification of the invention. Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate another modification, Fig. 4 being a side View and Fig. 5 a crosssectional view; and Fig. 6 illustrates still another modification of the invention.

The body of the hook consists of a how a, having one end formed as a heavy eye I) and its other end bent around and projecting toward said eye, terminating in spaced lugs c. d is a cast-off device having the shape of a flat hook, whose hook portion e is adapted to fit snugly in the curved portion fot the how a of the hook. The cast-off device has parallel lugs g extending up from it and arranged in coincidence with the lugs c, the several lugs being penetrated by a riveted pin h, forming a pivot between the parts a and cl. A spiral spring 71 is coiled about the pin and bears at one end against the top of the cast-ofi device, while its other end engages the free end of the how a. The spring tends normally to keep the parts closed, as shown in Fig. 1. In this form of device the strain which is exerted on it is a longitudinal one, and if it can effect any disarrangement of the parts at all it will be to tend to straighten out the curved portion f of the how a. In order to overcome this tendency, I provide the eye Z) with a projection j, adapted to be received by a slot 7c in the cast-off device d. The projection may have an eyelet l, designed to receive a pin to keep the parts locked, if desired. The same object may be more perfectly carried out by providing the hook portion of the cast-off device with lugs m, adapted to be received by recesses n in the bow CL and when the hook is closed take against shoulders 0, formed by said recesses and as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, or to practically the same end the curved portion fof the how a and the hook portion 6 of the cast-off device (1 may be provided the one with a lugp and the other with a recess q, forming a shoulder at 4", against which the lug 10 may bear, as shown in Fig. 3.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated an efficient means for insuring the book being kept closed, especially if the longitudinal strain thereon is for a time diminished and some part acts on the hook to accidentally open it by turning the part d on its pivot. This means consists of a U-shaped latch s, which straddles the body of the hook near its eye portion, being pivoted at t. This latch is intended to receive the free end of the part d, and to this end it is normally pressed against a stop it by a bent plate-spring c, which is secured to a pin 10.

When in use, the awning or other part w, adapted to be sustained by the hook on the support y, is secured in some suitable mannor to the eye I) of the hook. The awning being taut and the cast-off device occupying the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the hook portion of the latter is engaged with the support, the bow being preferably down. The cast-0d device is then turned into the position in which it appears in full-lines in Fig. 1, thus closing the book, when, the strain being maintained on the parts, it will be impossible to release the awning from the support without applying force to the free end of the cast-off device sufticient to turn it into the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 1. At the same time the awning can be cast off from its support with the greatest facilityit' the castoff device is properly operated to effect this on account of the great leverage which said device affords to the hand of the operator.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

I. In a hook, the combination of a body member and a cast-off member each having a hook at one end, the hook portions of said members being pivoted together and adapted to engage the one within the other, and said members having a coengaging aperture and projection extending transversely of said members and adapted to resist their relative displacement under longitudinal strain, substantially as described.

2. In a hook, the combination of the body member and a cast-off member pivotally connected together near one end of the hook, said members having relatively reversed hook portions adapted to engage the one within the other when the hook is closed, said hook portion of the cast-off member and said body member having abutments adapted to bear against each other when the hook is closed, substantially as described.

3. In a hook, the combination of a body member having one end hook-shaped, a castoff device also having one end hook-shaped and being pivoted to the extremity of the hook-shaped portion of the body member, said members having their hook portions relatively reversed and adapted to engage the one Within the other, and abutments formed on said members and adapted to bear against each other when the hook is closed, the abutment of each member being disposed opposite the pivotal portion thereof, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS A. WALKER. 

